Reviews

I read and review both historical fiction and non-fiction, but also enjoy biographies, crime and some contemporary fiction. Please note that unless stated that I have received these books directly from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review, I either purchase my own copies or source them from my local library service.​Links to Amazon or Booktopia are only for further reference

The great cover and snappy tagline captured my attention. One lied. One died. Hard to resist!

This is a tangled twins mystery with a Gen Y cast that purposely all look similar to one another, with fair hair and cute ski noses (a description repeated just a wee bit too often) and who drink a lot of wine and never seem to finish a meal. Their lives are complicated with messy relationships and dark hidden secrets.

Abi is a woman teetering on the edge, continuing to grieve for her identical twin sister Lucy who was killed in a car accident while Abi was driving. She also had another relationship that ended badly which caused her to attempt suicide, resulting in ongoing psychiatric treatment. While trying to get her life back on track, she moves away from Balham, London to the city of Bath.

Beatrice and Ben are the set second of twins: a dynamic and beautiful couple with wealth, a gorgeous house and designer label clothes, who surround themselves with a group of artistic friends and give fantastic parties. Abi is captivated when she and Beatrice seem to hit it off and before long Abi is invited to move into the house when one of the tenants leaves. Although it’s against the house rules, she starts to get emotionally involved with Ben. And it’s then that creepy things start happening: some of Abi’s letters from Lucy go missing, a dead bird is found in her bed, she is accused of stealing some jewellery. Could it be the increasingly jealous Beatrice’s doings, or is it one of the other tenants, like Cass, who has a major crush on Beatrice?

As this novel has been compared to others like The Girl on a Train, which I didn’t like too much (earlier review here), I was a bit wary at the beginning but by the end, I liked this much better and it did keep me glued to the chair without the need to over-analyse what I was reading. There are places where a brisk edit would have sharpened it even more, but the resolution was very neatly put together and the last couple of pages cemented my suspicions that not even the alleged victims in this novel are people you would want to know or have as your close neighbours.